The invention relates to a floor cleaning appliance having a brush head in which a brush roller is rotatably mounted and which has at least one suction nozzle which is disposed next to the brush roller, and having a shank which is mounted on the brush head in a pivotable manner and on which a suction unit is disposed, as is a cleaning liquid container for cleaning liquid which can be applied to the floor surface to be cleaned, and a dirty liquid container for accommodating dirty liquid which is sucked up from the floor surface by means of the suction unit, the cleaning liquid container and the dirty liquid container together forming a container assembly which is adapted to be releasably connected to the shank.
Floor cleaning appliances of this type are known from US 2006/0000050 A1. Said floor cleaning appliances can be used to clean a floor surface by cleaning liquid being applied to the floor surface and this floor surface being brushed by means of the brush roller. The applied cleaning liquid can be transferred to the dirty liquid container, together with dirt which has been detached, under the suction action of the suction unit.
The two containers, like the suction unit, are mounted on the shank of the floor cleaning appliance. The shank is mounted on the brush head in a pivotable manner and usually carries a handle at its free end. The user can use the shank to guide the floor cleaning appliance along the floor surface to be cleaned.
US 2006/0000050 A1 proposes forming the cleaning liquid container and the dirty liquid container as a container assembly which can be handled jointly and can be releasably connected to the shank. The container assembly can be disconnected from the shank in order to fill the cleaning liquid container and to empty the dirty liquid container. However, combined filling and emptying of the container assembly is not necessary in every case. It is often necessary only to empty the dirty liquid container after use of the floor cleaning appliance, without also refilling the cleaning liquid container at the same time. Rather, refilling is in many cases first performed at the beginning of renewed use of the floor cleaning appliance, in which case it is then not necessary to empty the dirty liquid container. The design of the cleaning liquid container and the dirty liquid container in the form of a common container assembly therefore leads to more difficult handling of the floor cleaning appliance in some cases.
It is an object of the present invention to develop a floor cleaning appliance of this generic type in such a way that it is easier to handle.